Integral Rural Development Program: Indian Economy
Introduction
The Integrated Rural Development Programme had been started to give the underprivileged chances for work. In addition to giving low-income individuals the necessary subsidies, this programme also enables them to raise their standard of living.
Integrated Rural Development Programme: Origin
• The Integrated Rural Development Programme (IRDP) was created in 1978–1979 by the Janta administration by combining the Community Area Development Programme (CADP), Drought Prone Area Programme (DPAP), Small Farmer Development Agency (SFDA), and Marginal Farmers and Agricultural Laborers Agency (MFALA).
• The National Common Minimum Programme (NCMP) of the central government emphasizes the crucial role that villages play in the overall development of the nation and pledges to work for the development of rural communities.
• Eliminating poverty, hunger, and unemployment in rural India is the main objective of IRDP.
• Out of the entire 5004 development blocks in the nation, the integrated rural development project was initially only available for 2000 blocks.
Program For Integrated Rural Development: Objectives
• To help people find chances for self-employment.
• Help a target group of rural poor families that are living in poverty by giving them a subsidy. The IRDP's target populations include sharecroppers, marginal and small farmers, laborers, artisans, scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, and scheduled castes.
• The implementation of sectoral integration measures in the village for the development of fisheries, social forestry, livestock, and poultry.
• To support the cottage business in the community.
• To raise the per capita income of the targeted demographics.
• To make the poorer sections of the rural population's living conditions better.
Program For Integrated Rural Development: Goals
• The IRDP's objective is to help low-income households raise their standard of living.
• Helping the underprivileged flourish on all levels will empower them.
• By supplying its target populations with useful resources and inputs.
• These families receive the assets, which may be in the primary, secondary, or tertiary sectors, as financial assistance in the form of government subsidies and loans or credit from financial institutions.
Features of IRDP
IRDP has a number of elements that fall into the following groups:
Cumulative Sectoral Integration
• The IRDP's first and most significant portion, it focuses on the areas that require improvement, including hunger, health, and education, as well as the rate of development.
Integration of Space
• Few industries demand more attention than others since there is always a relationship between the place of production and the source of raw materials. The areas that need extra attention are listed in this part of the IRDP. The integration of economic flows is referred to as "spatial integration".
Bringing together individual and group growth
• Development only benefits a small portion of the population, while the majority continues to struggle. The distribution of development money is outlined in this section of the IRDP in order to ensure that the majority of people receive an equal benefit.
Conflicting Objectives in the Integration of Socioeconomic and Environmental Development
• To reduce poverty in rural areas, advantages such as food, shelter, education, and health care could be offered. To safeguard the interests of future generations, resources and the environment must be balanced while attaining the aforementioned goals.
IRDP: Sixth Five-Year Plan Period
• The IRDP was mainly created as a program to fight poverty. It is advised that this goal be accomplished by helping the poorest households acquire the productive goods, know-how, and abilities necessary to maintain their economic activity.
• These families will also need social services like housing, health care, and education.
• Popular Integrated Rural Development Programmes include the National Rural Development Programme (NRDP), the Minimum Needs Programme (MNP), and others.
• The Swarnjayanti Gramme Swarozgar Yojna (SGSY), which superseded the IRDP and its associated programmes, was created by the Indian government in 1999 as a reorganized programme to combat poverty in rural regions.
• The plan's implementation fell under the purview of the Panchayat Samitis.
Beneficiaries
The following individuals will gain from this program:
• Artists from the countryside
• Laborers
• Farmers on the Brink
• Scheduled castes and tribes are castes and tribes that have been designated by the government.
• Economically disadvantaged people with a yearly income of less than Rs 11,000
Subsidies Offered Through The IRDP
Individuals that qualify for subsidies include:
• 25 percent of farmers are small-scale.
• Workers in agriculture and small-scale farmers (33.33%).
• Families with SC/ST members, kids, and people with impairments (50%).
• The maximum subsidy amount for SC/ST households and individuals with disabilities has been fixed at Rs. 6,000, Rs. 4,000 for non-DPAP and non-DDP areas, and Rs. 5,000 for DPAP and DDP locales.
• From this group of SC/ST applicants, women and people with disabilities receive subsidies of 50%, 40%, and 3%, respectively.
• People in this group who have been granted ceiling surplus land as well as Green Card holders who qualify for family welfare programs and free bonded labor are also given first preference.
Implementation
The Integrated Rural Development Program's implementation is the responsibility of the following organizations:
• Block personnel at the grassroots level District Rural Development Agencies (DRDAs)
• State Level Coordination Committee (SLCC) at the state level
• Ministry of Rural Areas and Employment (who are responsible for the release of funds, formation of policies, program evaluation, monitoring, and guidance).
Integrated Rural Development Program: Funding
• The union government and the states each contribute equally to the centrally financed Integrated Rural Development Program.
• The strategy has been in use across all of the nation's blocks since 1980.
• According to this plan, central funds are dispersed to states depending on the share of rural poor people in each state compared to the total number of rural poor people in the nation.
• Government subsidies and term credit provided by financial institutions such as commercial banks, cooperatives, and regional rural banks are two ways that financial institutions such as these offer aid.
IRDP Priority Regions
• Tribal areas in Orissa and Madhya Pradesh.
• Punjab, Haryana, and Andhra Pradesh are states with developed agricultural industries.
• Maharashtra and Eastern Uttar Pradesh are underdeveloped agricultural regions.
• The hilly regions of West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, and Jammu & Kashmir
• Gujarat, Kerala, and Karnataka have excellent government in the desert regions of Rajasthan, but Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh have subpar government.
Evaluation
• The District Rural Development Agency (DRDA) was recommended by the Ministry of Rural Development for planning purposes. However, there was no established setup process that was continuously followed.
• Lack of resource surveys in local communities leads to poor planning.
• Inadequate implementation happens as a result of a lack of pre-requisite training for interacting with police.
• Some states steadfastly refused to shoulder the burden of the 50% requirement.
• Inadequate credit infrastructure and minimal amenities in areas where advantages can be proved
• For maintaining the assets, there was no follow-up.
Conclusion
In the 44 years since it began, more than 6 lakh families have benefited from the IRDP, with 60 percent coming from scheduled castes and scheduled tribes. Such a program's primary goal is to advance diversity and equality in society. The IRDP has been a project of the Indian government. Despite criticism for the initiative's subpar implementation on the ground, it has largely been successful in eradicating poverty. As a result, it has significantly contributed to reducing poverty levels.